Cyclist Shirin van Anrooij finished third on Wednesday at the Navarra Women’s Elite Classic, a one-day race in the north of Spain. The 22-year-old Kapelse sprinted (!) to that place of honor.
The 135 kilometer climbing race had the start and finish in Pamplona. Van Anrooij, the leader of Lidl-Trek, was one of the favorites for victory. She came close, but had to let the German Hannah Ludwig (solo victory) and the Cuban Arlenis Sierra (slightly faster in the peloton sprint) go ahead. She did win the team classification with Lidl-Trek.
Ludwig broke away from the group of favorites about 23 kilometers before the end. She got a lead of more than a minute. Under the impetus of Van Anrooij, among others, that gap was almost closed. In the end, the German won by a few seconds. The Zeelander is usually not that fast in the final sprint, but occasionally comes out well. She already finished third in the 2023 Amstel Gold Race and on Wednesday she almost repeated that in the smaller Spanish race.
Van Anrooij is now going to the Tour of the Basque Country with a good feeling. That’s a three-day event that starts on Friday.
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Tags: Shirin van Anrooij sprints podium Spain Sports Zeeland
